


Lovers and Strangers

by closetcase115



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-21 02:32:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4811615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/closetcase115/pseuds/closetcase115
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“One day you’re lovers, next you’re just strangers.”<br/>This is the story of Kelley and Hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cortado

**Author's Note:**

> Been having some ideas on a O'Solo fic since that WC forehead kiss...now trying to put things down on paper. This may turn out to be a collection of shorts rather than a real fic. Let's see how things pan out. Hope you like it!

With half a cup of cortado sitting on the wooden table at a nicely decorated café, Kelley was enjoying the scene of surfers and sunbathers in front of her. It was a nice late-summer Sunday. The knocking and beating of waves, laughter of children, pop music from one of the speakers afar…she was letting her mind drift, after all that had happened in the past few months, heck, the past few years. The warm breeze ruffled her hair, but more so her heart.

It all began in 2011, when Kelley was called back to the World Cup roster after being one of the last ones cut. She didn’t get many minutes, but it was such a great learning experience for her - it was the foundation of everything she accumulated on the field from there on out. Soccer aside, it was also the rudiment of everything that happened between her and Hope. It the point at which their paths first met. Those eye contacts, the occasional hellos at hotel corridors, the brushing of sweaty shoulders on the field…Kelley took a sip of her coffee and smiled at the thought of how nervous she was that one time when Dawn had asked her to bring an ice bag to Hope. It was funny, because Kelley would always find her eyes wandering and eventually landing on Hope…at breakfast, on the bus, at team meetings, in the ice tub, heck, even at practices when Pia was practically screaming in their ears. Kelley was the newbie of the team and Hope was the star goalkeeper, a talented, troubled goalkeeper.

Kelley, despite being a beast on the field, had always been and still is intimidated by Hope. Those piercing blue eyes, killer instinct, formidable demeanor…that was exactly the way Kelley liked about Hope, exactly the way Kelley was attracted by Hope, infatuated with Hope. A badass, a rebel, a lone wolf, a…Solo. Kelley had never had someone like that in her life. She had grown up in the South and spent quite a bit of time in San Francisco. As the middle child, she has always been goofy and light-hearted off the field. She is a person that’s easy to spend time with and just has a way of making people around her feel comfortable and happy. She is a ball of zest. Her jokes are pretty bad but are infectious somehow.

So what happens when this warm ray of sunlight hits the cold mirror? Well, either the light gets reflected or the temperature changes and little water droplets form on the cool surface. The majority of the USWNT predicted the former, but Kelley and Hope’s budding relationship ended up being the latter.

Kelley took another sip of her cortado. The blend of sweetness and bitterness tugged at her heartstrings. Her mind backtracked to the end of the 2011 World Cup…the devastating loss to Japan. Everything, literally everything, went wrong in the penalty shootout. Kelley’s heart was shattered, for her team, for her teammates, and of course, for Hope. Kelley could not bear to watch Hope’s reaction. The look in the goalkeeper’s eyes when the Japanese player scored the last penalty kick was something that Kelley would never forget. It was disappointment, angst, wrath…it was pain. Dagger-in-the-heart type of pain. Four years of immeasurable hard work, sacrifices, drive, commitment…so close to bringing the trophy home, yet it didn’t happen. A lot of players were sobbing, but there were no tears from Hope. Hope hadn’t say a word to anyone since that last goal went past her. After the prize ceremony, Kelley saw from the corner of her eye that Hope walked straight into the locker room. Kelley could feel the hurt and blame that Hope was inflicting on herself. She didn’t know how or what to do to make the goalkeeper feel better. Still, she quickly gathered her gear and hurried behind Hope.

Hope leaned against the sink and splashed water onto her face. Dejected and emotionless, she turned off the tab and put her hands on the collar of her yellow shirt and closed her eyes. Kelley could see the bulging muscles on the keeper’s arms. Next she heard Hope let out a primal scream and ripped her shirt off. The locker room fell silent. Everyone could feel the frustration and agony in Hope’s cry. Hope needed space. The whole team needed space. Tears streamed down the defender’s face but Kelley could not bear herself watching the hurt lioness anymore. She dropped her cleats and water bottle and gave Hope a tight hug. Kelley could feel Hope’s shoulders tensed up upon the unexpected physical contact, but she didn’t care, she held Hope even tighter and her shirt was dampened with Hope’s sweat and tears. That was the very first time the contours of their bodies met. First, certainly not last.

“Would you like more coffee ma’am?” Kelley was brought back to reality by the barista’s question. “Hmm I’m alright. Thanks. It’s my turn to take a dip.” Kelley pulled out her wallet, placed a $10 bill under the coffee cup, grabbed her phone and car key, and walked towards her car.


	2. Surf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typed most of this on my phone. Find this fun but difficult to write as part of me identifies with Hope a lot and part of me is exactly like Kelley.
> 
> Side note: In real life, Hope was actually absent from the friendlies in Arizona (1-1 vs Sweden), since she was on Dancing with the Stars.

Kelley pulled out the surfboard and board shorts from the trunk of her car. Surfing is absolutely Kelley's second favorite activity, behind playing soccer, of course. “What is it about surfing that makes it so captivating?” Kelley pondered, as she slowly paddled away from the beach. 'Cause it's relaxing? The solitude? A chance to be alone? No, not that. Deep down, Kelley knew the answer, but didn't want to admit it. It's feeling of being able to completely surrendering herself to something while simultaneously trying to conquer it - the ocean, the tossing waves, the ice cold water...and well, Hope Solo too.

Since that hug in the locker room, Kelley's crush on Hope had only gotten worse. Hope, on the other hand, saw Kelley in a new light. All of a sudden the goalkeeper began finding herself noticing Kelley, paying attention to Kelley, and even wondering what's on Kelley's mind. Long story short, Hope was interested in Kelley. Or rather, Kelley had piqued Hope's interest.

Knowing Hope's personality, there is no doubt that she is one that pursues what she wants. She is a person that acts according to her heart, that more often than not, does before she thinks. That's Hope, the best goalkeeper in the world. One that goes along with her emotions, trusts her intuition, relies on her instincts. It is her biggest strength, and her biggest downfall.

On the bus ride to the airport after their last game of 2011, a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Sweden, Hope did something she had never done before - she took the seat beside Kelley (which, FYI, usually belonged to Mittsy or Buehler at the time). The move turned heads, as Hope and Carli had always been the two back seaters with “Do Not Come Near” written on their foreheads, but Hope didn’t care, not like she had ever cared. Hope never felt the need to explain or justify her actions.

Kelley, on the other hand, was looking out the window, completely unaware of Hope sitting beside her. Kelley had her headphones on, and was playing “Dancing on My Own” on her iPod. She bobbed to the tunes, heck, even lip-synced the chorus. The squirrel incarnate was clearly very excited to go home and couldn’t wait to catch her flight back to Georgia. It wasn’t till the song was over that Kelley realized who was sitting beside her. “Holy crap. How embarrassing was that!” Kelley thought to herself. Her heart was racing, and her face turned bright. From the corner of her eye, she could see Hope on her phone, with a visible smirk on her face. Kelley knew Hope wasn’t going to say anything, so she broke the ice. “Hey sorry I completely zoned out!” Kelley stuck her tongue out and made a silly face. Hope turned her head and smiled smugly. “Haha yeah I didn’t want to disturb you…didn’t know you like Robyn.” “Oh my gosh I love Robyn. Her music is DOPE.” Kelley replied enthusiastically. For the rest of the ride, the two chitchatted about nothing and everything. Everyone else on the bus was pretending to be chilling, but all of them were secretly eavesdropping Kelley and Hope’s discussion. “Kelley really had a way of making Hope open up”, they thought.

The bus pulled over. As much as she didn’t want, Hope knew it was time for them to end the conversation. Awkwardly, she pulled out her phone, unlocked and handed it over to Kelley, asking casually, “You wouldn’t mind if I text you sometime, would you?” “Not in a million years, Hope!” Kelley quickly plugged in her number. At this point, Kelley heart was about to burst. Hope could have easily got Kelley’s number through Barnhart or simply look through the team text group or team contact list, but that was Hope’s way of testing the water, Hope’s way of telling Kelley that she wanted to keep the dialogue going. Initiating relationships of any kind had never been Hope’s strong suit, as evident in her polarizing personality and tight circle of friends. She often appeared to be offhand and blunt to many, but unlike other people, Kelley found the keeper’s brusqueness quite adorable...

It was that time of the year again. The gals knew they would sure miss being together, but they looked forward to taking a break for now, before embarking on the road to London Olympics. They had a mission in front of them - not only to defend their Olympic gold medal, but also to retrieve what was snatched from them in Germany. The team hugged and waved each other goodbye as they boarded different planes. Two of them, in particular, had already begun to count the days till the next camp.


	3. Folly Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of my attempt at dissecting and mending the O'Solo ship...I really don't want this to be a heartbreaking story, but there'll sure be some ups and downs.

After an hour of surfing, Kelley drove back to the beach house, picking up some groceries on the way. Every off season, or whenever Kelley needs some time off from soccer, she would spend two or three days here at Folly Beach. It’s a five-hour drive from home, but the family holiday house is right by the ocean and there really is no better place to take a break than hanging out here. Like many other athletes, Kelley is a habitual animal. She has an everyday routine, well, even when she takes time off from soccer. Her typical Folly Beach day would usually go like this: get up, go to her favorite café to get a cortado, surf for a little, have lunch, hit the gym, then either eat out or stay in for the night. For most years, Kelley would prefer to be alone and have some down time to herself, but there were also years when she invited people to come…her Stanford teammates, Press, Alex, Tobin, and of course, you-know-who.

It was a week after they returned from Arizona in 2011, and Kelley had just arrived at the holiday house. She got a text from Hope, her very first text from Hope. Kelley literally almost dropped her phone when she saw the name goalkeeper’s name popped up on her screen. 

_HS (3:22pm): Hey Kel how’s it going? Having a good week? I’m just wondering if you’d want to hang out sometime in two days. I just finished a photo shoot in NY & will have 1.5-day layover in Savannah (I know…flights are messed up). Hope that’s not too far from where you live…I can drive over! Lemme know!_

_KO (3:59pm): Hey Hope! So nice to hear from you. I’m doing well. I’m actually chilling in Folly Beach right now and not in ATL. Yes I’d love to catch up! We can hang out in Savannah or here in SC, wherever you prefer. Also, I can come pick you up. Just let me know which flight._

_HS (4:10pm): That sounds so much fun Kel! Ok maybe Folly Beach then? It’s AA820, but seriously I can drive over!_

_KO (4:15pm): Oh shush…you’re in my “territory” now so let me take care of it. See you in two days then!_

“Ahhh Hope’s gonna be here!” Kelley squealed, jumping up and down on her couch like a silly child. From then on until Hope landed, Kelley did everything she could to in preparation for Hope’s visit. She stocked up the fridge with groceries, cleaned the guest room, double checked to make sure there was shampoo and toothpaste in the bathroom…she was very excited for Hope to come. 

Kelley arrived at the airport and was waiting in her car. Even until now, after four years, Kelley still hasn’t forgotten that moment when Hope walked out of the terminal. Hope was wearing a beanie and had her long, dark hair down. It was a cold morning. The flush in her cheeks accentuated her icy blue eyes. She was beaming. With a duffle bag in her hands, she peeked around for Kelley. Kelley wished she could watch Hope like this forever, but couldn’t help and rolled down the window after two seconds. Kelley yelled, “Goalkeeper!” Hope turned her head and met Kelley’s eyes. An instant soft smile lit up on her face, as if Hope was about to see an old friend from childhood. Kelley walked up to Hope for expecting high five, but Hope opted for a hug instead, catching the defender off guard. “Nice to see you Kel”, Hope said, rubbing Kelley’s shoulder. “Ditto Hope.” Kelley replied with a grin. 

The Georgia Peach was a great host. She introduced Hope to all her favorite places in Folly Beach – that little café, the best surf spots, the farmers’ market, and her go-to Mexican restaurant. They had coffee, worked out together, took a long walk by the beach during sunset, went out for dinner, watched TV on the couch. It was so lovely, so relaxing yet so invigorating. There was some flirting and teasing here and there, but at the end of the day, they just really enjoyed each other’s company and enjoyed getting to know one another.

When Kelley was driving Hope back to the airport, Hope asked, “Hey Kel, do you still think about our game against Japan?” “Every day Hope. It’s always on my mind. Why do you ask?” Kelley said, while trying to keep her eyes on the road. Hope sighed. “I don’t know. That one particular penalty kick that I got my hands on, but couldn’t save, remember? It haunts me…just makes me think that I’m not nearly as strong as I seem to be, that I’m not the bulletproof Hope Solo I put out to people.” Hope confessed. “Hope…don’t say that. First, nobody is perfect. Everyone is flawed. Each person, even the strongest, fastest, brightest, has vulnerabilities. Second, don’t worry about how people perceive you. Just listen to and act on your heart. You have a good heart, Hope,” Kelley said in earnest, her tone turned serious. “Thank you Kelley. Thanks for trusting me.” Hope replied, looking out the window.

Kelley dropped Hope off at last. That entire day and a half was pure joy for Kelley. She was beginning to feel so much more comfortable around Hope. She was beginning to get to know Hope, the real Hope, the Hope that lets her fences down. Kelley’s crush on the keeper seemed to have slowly turned into a relationship, a friendship, perhaps. She wasn’t sure how to define it, nor did she feel the need to define it. Without her realizing, she had already carved out part of her heart to make room for Hope.


End file.
